Our politicians and officials submit faulty policy, which in turn, is approved. While our generation, the millennials, are forced to reap the consequences of these newly implemented laws. We are the citizens that range between the ages of 15-25; we comprise the nation’s high schools, universities, and stand as the future force that will drive the movement toward equity. Unfortunately, our concerns
, issues, and rights, are often overlooked or dismissed by those individuals elected to represent our interests. HARTS (Helping Advocate Rights Through Stories) was founded in 2010 as a transformative method to promote student health activism and individual rights’ advocacy throughout the University of Virginia. What started as a weekly discussion group held in Lambeth Commons transformed into an advocacy unit that now functions under the University of Virginia as a certified independent organization. The organization focuses on raising awareness regarding issues that have a major impact on the lives of young adults between the ages of 15-25(millenials). We believe that through the promotion and acknowledgement of individual rights’ and access one simultaneously strives to create an open space geared toward increasing inclusion and individual empowerment. We have the right to be heard, acknowledged, and ultimately granted effective representation. HARTS works to ensure comprehensive family life education for all young people regardless of discriminating factors. We work to defund abstinence-only education programs as well as target HIV and AIDS issues. We strive to provide each individual with contraceptive and abortion information and access while promoting GLBTQ rights and awareness. We believe that through the promotion and acknowledgement of cultural/individual rights’ and access one simultaneously strives to create an open space geared toward increasing inclusion and individual empowerment. Your experiences and my experiences become our stories, millennials stories. We believe that through community outreach, dialogue and combined assistance we open HARTS for a unified community!
